


Liquid Courage? More Like Liquid Gold

by DashieP



Category: The Masked Singer (US TV)
Genre: Astroturtle brings me joy, Drunk boy Astro, Fox shows up I swear, M/M, Overprotective Turtle, Rabbit and Astro might actually get along?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashieP/pseuds/DashieP
Summary: In which Turtle's somehow the one stuck home while Astronaut and Rabbit party.
Relationships: Astronaut (The Masked Singer US)/Turtle (The Masked Singer US), Fox (The Masked Singer US)/Rabbit (The Masked Singer US)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Liquid Courage? More Like Liquid Gold

Turtle’s staring at his darkened phone screen with a glare. The television is on in the background, and while he knows he’s just going to have to rewind it again he doesn’t pause it, needing the noise to fill up the emptiness of the apartment. A half-eaten plate of food sits in front of him, long abandoned and now cold. He groans in leans back into the worn grooves of the couch. He’s aware that he may be overreacting a little, but what else could be expected?

Rabbit and Astro have finally begun to get along, so when the bunny invited Astro out for a night out, the smaller man practically bounced out the door. Turtle had resisted the urge to include himself, knowing that they would be fine (and that Fox would kill Rabbit if anything happened anyway). He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but it was almost midnight and he still hasn’t gotten a text from either of them. Astro’s an adult, he knows, but he still worries for his newest companion. He was trusting and kind, the perfect target for someone with less than stellar intentions. His fist clenches involuntarily at the mental image of his poor, sweet friend getting swindled- or worse.

Turtle’s well acquainted with Rabbit’s type of fun. He hopes that his best friend used some brains and didn’t take Astro to a pub. He chuckles to himself, knowing that Astro would be completely mortified of what drunk Rabbit’s like. Loud, outrageously inappropriate and worst of all an idiot. It’s sometimes too much for Turtle himself to handle sober, and he doubts the astronaut could, or even would, keep pace with him.

He sighs and grabs the remote, restarting the episode and trying to distract himself. He’s nervous of what stupid stunt’s Rabbit could be pulling. Would it be more along the lines of a prank, like that time he convinced Astro that it was an Earthly custom to show your third finger in greeting?

_He has to admit, that one was kind of funny. Especially how red poor Astro’s face turned when he cavalierly flipped of Bee._

Hopefully it’s something harmless. If Rabbit got Astro into any serious trouble, Turtle may have to fight Fox for the right to kill him.

For a while, the punker manages to distract himself with the stupid soap opera, one of his guilty pleasures. He follows along as Maria discovers that her sister has taken their mother’s antique pearls, and gasps when she’s busted out on a date with the guy who Maria is interested in. Maria, understandably, is overflowing with rage and jealously at the betrayal, having intended to ask him out herself. It echoes closely with Turtle’s night. He’d much rather be the one to take Astro out, show him the city and introduce him to the nightlife. He shakes his head abruptly and turns up the volume in an attempt to drown out his thoughts. He refuses to let himself think of Astro like that, knowing full well that the feelings aren’t reciprocated.

Speaking of feelings, he’s definitely afraid that Rabbit will spill the beans after a few shots. The last thing he wants is for his house mate to feel pressured into anything. He’s only been on the planet for a couple months; that’s not counting how long it took for his…upbringing to fade enough that they became real friends. No, if anything is to come it has to be organically and it has to come from Astro himself, no one else.

His phone lights up and he’s snatching it up and unlocking it almost instantly. He sees a missed call from the space man and frowns, wondering how he possibly didn’t see it ring. Before he can do anything, it’s ringing again, this time from Rabbit’s number.

“Hello?”

There’s loud music in the background as soon as the call connects, and it’s enough to make Turtle lean away and wince. “Rab?” He tries a second time. Maybe they both coincidentally butt dialed him?

“Hey. He answered!” Crows his best friend. “Ass, he picked up!” Turtle can hear him blow a raspberry, presumably at said Astronaut. “Rab, where are you guys? I can barely hear you over the bass line,” He complains, rubbing his beak. “Kk, one sec.” Rabbit’s definitely had a few drinks, the turtle can tell by the loudness of his voice. He sighs and waits for a minute, knowing that the bunny had dropped his phone into his pocket and was slipping outside. “Hey, better?” Rabbit’s still yelling but the music’s a lot quieter now, so Turtle figures he’ll take it as a win. “Where are you guys?”

“Aw dude we’re at this sick party, it’s great! You didn’t tell me your little buddy could pound shots like that!”

Turtle blinks, opens his mouth to say something, then promptly shuts it again. Astro…Drinking? No, scratch that. Astro’s doing shots? Multiple? The two ideas seem incorrigible, but Rabbit wouldn’t lie about it. At least, drunk Rabbit wouldn’t. Has Astro ever gotten drunk before? On Earth he was considered twenty-three years old, but Turtle knew that age was calculated differently at the Academy, and there Astro was still a little green behind the ears. “Where’s the party, bro? Sounds fun.” Turtle’s trying to keep the surprise out of his voice. He just can’t picture his sweet innocent astronaut taking shots like a champ. Rabbit seems to perk up, sounding energized and somehow even louder. “Bro, it’s down on Dream Street, by Hunter highway? You should swing by; this’ll definitely be a night to remember!”

When he’d decided he was going, he’s not one hundred percent sure, but the reptile has his leather jacket and boots on in under thirty seconds, swiping his keys off the counter and speed walking to the car. His mind is filled with images of Astro drinking: Astro standing on the counter chugging it from the bottle, Astro dancing with a shot in his hand, Astro doing his adorable little moon bounce across the floor. He smiles faintly.

It feels like eternity before he pulls up to the address Rabbit had texted him. It’s a plain looking house but Turtle can feel the beat from outside, noting how it makes his shell feel like it’s vibrating. He heads to the door and pulls it open, quickly shuffling through the throng of intoxicated partygoers. It’s easy enough to spot Rabbit, his tall ears rising above the crowd. Turtle shimmies over to him, tugging on his sleeve. “You made it, oh that’s epic!” Rabbit’s even louder in person. “This reminds me of Carrigan’s party, back in college? Remember, I bet you fifty bucks you wouldn’t fill your shell with feathers, and then- “

Turtle cuts him off with a wave of a hand, embarrassed. “Yeah yeah, we all remember that. Where’s Astro?”

Rabbit doesn’t get a chance to answer before he feels a small hand yanking on his shell hard enough to make him topple over. He lands on his butt, managing not to clip the stranger accosting him. He stands, ready to start an argument about touching without permission when he sees that it’s Astro. He takes a quick stock of the other.

Somewhere between leaving the apartment and here Astro’d taken off his helmet, exposing his beautiful pale face, currently sporting a flush that only comes from excessive alcohol. His eyes are glossy, pupils blown wide and dark. His lips are parted into a derpy smile, and it’s so damn adorable Turtle can’t help but smile back, his breath stolen by just how precious he looks. It’s almost too tempting to take his phone out and snap a picture. He settles for taking a mental snapshot instead.

“Oh my flarg you’re here! I missed you so much, this is so totally awesome!” Drunk Astro’s voice is just as gentle as sober Astro’s, but it’s lighter and less focused. Turtle imagines this is what he would sound like if he sang, musical and light. Turtle pulls him into a hug and rests his chin on dark curly hair, and his friend clearly doesn’t mind. He feels the intoxicated man nuzzle into his chest, which sets off fireworks in his heart. He may make fun of the space nerd for being three inches shorter, but right now he’s thanking the universe for the height difference. Turtle goes to move away but Astro tightens his grip, small hands bunching up the shirt. “No, stay,” Astro mutters into his chest, almost inaudible. “You smell good.”

Turtle can feel the flush shoot across his beak. Rabbit notices his face and cracks up, doubling over with laughter. Turtle shoots him a death glare. “You should take your boy toy home, T.” Rabbit snickers, motioning to the duo with a red solo cup that’s sloshing over the edges. “Ah shit, not my beer!” _Karma_ , Turtle thinks without any heat. “You takin’ him home? Good, good, I’ll call tomorrow.” Rabbit doesn’t give him a chance to respond before he’s walking off, probably in search of more alcohol. Astro still hasn’t moved, still pressed tightly against the turtle’s chest. As much as he enjoys the close contact, he doesn’t really want to stay here. Parties are no fun if you’re the only sober one, after all. “Let’s head home, okay Nugget?”

Astro whines, he actually whines. The sound is very high pitched yet somehow still musical in quality. “I don’t wanna walk Mr. Turtle.” He’s giggling now. Turtle’s completely caught off guard by the openness of his friend; the alien usually wasn’t so expressive. He laughs, sure, but he’s definitely never heard him giggle before. Does every sound he makes have to be so enticing? Turtle chuckles in response, gently bopping his chin against Astro’s head. “Well we’ve got to leave at some point.”

Astro looks up at him, face the picture of beauty and drunken innocence. “Carry me?” He asks, and once again Turtle’s blushing. He hopes Astro’s too out of it to notice. “S-sure.” He stutters, before realizing his conundrum. He can’t carry him piggy-back, not with the spikes on his shell; nobody wants an Astro-kebob. That really only leaves one option. He gulps. “Alright, here we go.” He’s not sure which of them he’s talking to. He takes a deep breath and scoops his smaller friend up. He’s ridiculously light.

They must look insane to everyone else at the party but Turtle doesn’t care. He’s too busy memorizing the feeling of Astro’s body against his, the way his head is tucked into his shoulder. He’s in heaven, no doubt about it. This memory will be burned into his mind for eternity. Astro, for his part, hasn’t complained about the proximity, instead curling tighter into his companion and humming contentedly. Turtle practically floats to the car. He gently lowers Astro into the seat and secures the seatbelt. He wouldn’t want the other to get hurt if anything were to happen. As he slides into the driver’s side to start the car, Astro resumes humming. He can’t recognize the tune, so he asks Astro. “Oh, I don’t remember. Some old tune from one of the captains. I like music, it’s fun.”

Turtle would have responded but Astro begins to sing, which almost causes Turtle to lose control of the car. He’s never once heard the cadet sing before this moment, and it’s beautiful. His voice isn’t too low; Turtle would guess he’d be an alto at best. His singing lingers in the air, almost tangibly present. Turtle can’t understand what he’s singing, but the melancholy of the notes is apparent even without a translation. They ride the rest of the way back home like this, with Astro singing anything that comes to his mind and Turtle just enjoying it.

“Rabbit says you’re crushing on me.” Astro randomly says as they pull in and suddenly the oxygen is gone from the vehicle. “I told him you weren’t on top of me so how would that work? But he only laughed and said ‘not yet’. What did he mean?” Astro’s looking at him in confusion from the passenger side but the punk rocker’s lungs aren’t cooperating with him yet. He coughs a few times to cover for the silence. What is he supposed to say??? This is a conversation for two sober people, not an exhausted turtle and a drunken toddler of an astronaut. “Uh…” He says intelligently. “Why would you be on top of me?” and now his head is cocked too, completing the ‘confused’ look. Turtle figures this is what drowning would feel like and makes a mental note to murder his best friend tomorrow.

The world must take pity on him, because his phone starts buzzing. He snatches it up like a lifeline, grateful for the excuse out of this topic. “Turtle?” Fox sounds exasperated, so he figures it’s about Rabbit. “He’s at some party, I just picked up Astro.” He uses his shoulder as a resting pad for his cellphone and maneuvers his way to the other side of the car. “Fantastic. I wasn’t sure if he left Astronaut behind or not because he just came home.”

“Is that Fox?” Astro leans in towards the phone, words slurring a little. “Hi Fox! Can he hear me? Oh, wait, is it Fox? I should’ve asked that first.” He’s giggling again, and Turtle takes the opportunity to slip him into his arms again. “Oh dear, he’s wasted.” Fox chirps out a small laugh. “Rabbit’s a bad influence on him.” Turtle rolls his eyes and bites back a retort, knowing his annoyance is at the bunny, not his long-suffering partner. “Yeah, definitely. Astro’s home safe though, don’t worry.” He says instead. “I’ll let you get back to it, then.” Turtle’s not sure but he feels like Fox is smirking at him. “Oh hush. Goodbye.”

Getting the smaller man into the house is easy enough. They fit through the doorway to the apartment with ease, and for a moment Turtle imagines carrying Astro in everyday like this. The thought makes his chest twinge, so he pushes it from his mind and walks into Astro’s room. “Okay buddy, time for bed.” He speaks in a low voice. Astro whines again and buries his head into Turtle’s chest, sending chills down his back. “You’re comfier.”

Turtle laughs. “That’s not a real word.” He accuses jokingly. Astro doesn’t respond this time. “Nugget, you gotta get into bed.” He cajoles. Still no response. “Nug?” He asks, nudging the other with his chin. “Did you die on me?”

That appears to be the case, as soft breathing is all he hears. Turtle can’t help but aw at the scene, his heart thudding painfully. He’s tempted to just put him down onto the bed and leave, but a small part of him pushes him to take Astro back to his bed. He tells himself he’s only doing it to make sure that Astro doesn’t puke in his sleep, but he knows the truth deep down. And if he falls asleep with a smile on his face and an alien hugging him, well, that’s between Turtle and the wallpaper.


End file.
